


(Keep you) In the dark

by astudyinsolitude



Series: Something In the Air [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, BDSM, Blindfolds, Butt Plugs, D/s, Dom Bucky Barnes, Dom/sub, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes, Shameless Smut, Smut, Sub Steve, Sub Steve Rogers, dom bucky, floggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-03-07 19:20:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18879589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinsolitude/pseuds/astudyinsolitude
Summary: Lack of communication puts a speed bump in the way before Steve and Bucky can even start moving forward.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **I do not consent to my works being hosted on apps that require a subscription, charge a payment for download, have options for readers to spend money for access or options, display ads, or otherwise receive revenue from my works. My fanworks are available for free on [archiveofourown.org](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinsolitude/works) and do not require payment to access. Any other app, website, or other service that receives revenue from hosting my works is infringing copyright, as I own the copyright to my own fanworks.**
> 
> /end PSA
> 
> Probably should read the first fic in this series first. Title once again from “Something In the Air” by Seafret. I have been writing at 2 am and not reading through the chapters before posting, so there will be errors. Feel free to point them out!
> 
> Please note that this fic may be subject to change, as it is still very much in progress. If you don’t like committing to a WIP, _please_ for your sake don’t get drawn in to this series. I am a trash monster and it’s taken almost 3 years to make this chapter happen and I have no idea when the next one(s) will come. See the end notes/series notes for more details.
> 
>  
> 
> _Note for returning readers: the single chapter that was originally posted is now split so the introduction is still in chapter 1, but the scene is in chapters 4 and 5, and it has gone through a couple major edits. The tone going into the scene has very much changed, but I hope this doesn’t preclude you from enjoying it all the same!_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky realizes that Steve is not doing as well as he seems. Then again, neither is Bucky.

As much as Bucky wanted to spend time with the sub he was now supposed to be helping, to learn about Steve and what he needed, they didn’t get a chance to find a rhythm before being sent out again, and since Bucky was still being eased in to missions, they were often on different teams. Operations did their best to schedule them for only a few days apart so Steve could still get enough time with his dom to get subspace when he needed it, and they worked hard to re-arrange schedules if a mission was help up longer than expected and the other couldn’t be deployed on schedule. Really, it was a work of art that Ops kept in balance. And it should’ve worked. 

Problem was, Steve apparently wasn’t being honest about what he needed. 

Still getting his feet under him as both an agent and a dom, Bucky had followed Steve’s guidance for scenes, assuming that these smaller and shorter scenes were enough to keep Steve stable. Bucky wasn’t ever around him long enough to see how he was truly faring under the facade Steve kept up during mission breaks. It wasn’t until they were deployed together that Bucky could see how drawn-in Steve was, how he’d get irritated over nothing and separate himself during down times, brooding. 

After they wrapped up the mission and boarded the quinjet, Bucky carefully approached Steve, seeing the stress practically pouring off of him and unsure of his welcome. 

As Bucky shifted closer, Steve was forced to look up to watch his approach. They stared at each other, in turns nervous and overwhelmed, and Bucky felt the weight of guilt pressing down on his shoulders. The one task he was given, the one area that he actually felt useful as himself instead of just another warm body with a gun, and he’d let down his sub so _much_. 

As Steve continued to look at him without reacting or pushing him away, Bucky pressed the advantage, slowly moving his right hand to the back of Steve’s neck, eyes locked for a few more breaths in a stalemate. He slowly tightened his grip, grabbing the short strands and pulling Steve’s head back further. Steve’s breath seeped out in a slow exhale as his shoulders relaxed, eyes staring back into Bucky’s for another moment before he just let go, eyes sliding shut and body going limp. 

For a few breathes Bucky just stared, before lifting his other hand to brush along Steve’s face, fingerless gloves leaving his metal fingertips open to the sensation of sweat on Steve’s brow, the chapped skin of his cheekbone, the slightest shudder to Steve’s deep breaths as he moved in a gentle drag along his face. Bucky felt so full of emotion, felt like his heart was breaking and he didn’t know how to get through to his sub, he was barely keeping himself together and he felt one step away from failing them both. 

His hand shook as he fought to keep his breath steady, staring down at this man who had been through so much, had so much ripped away from him, and all Bucky could do is hope. Hope that he could be enough, that he could _make_ himself be enough, to keep them both from fraying apart. 

Bucky gentled his grip, guiding Steve’s head to rest on his hip as he curled his own body around Steve, right arm circling around to block the light, block the sound, and gently spreading the fingers of his prosthetic to do the same on the other side. 

They stayed there, Steve limp and drawing in slow, deep, heaves of air, Bucky with his teeth clenched and heart pounding as he fought the tear sliding down his cheek, both too full of emotions they couldn’t name that threatened to pull them apart at the seams. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys run into a snag on the way home.

Steve moved toward the back of the quinjet as Natasha begins shutdown protocols. His eyes were still glassy but he was walking steadily enough, grabbing the shield and preparing to offblard. Suddenly he slowed, and the look on his face made Bucky stop his own packing. Steve looked absolutely drained, like the thought of one more task was just too painful to contemplate, and that’s when Bucky noticed Fury waiting a few yards away from their landing pad. 

Natasha stepped out of the cockpit and Bucky turned to her. “This is - can you make it so we don’t have to do this right now?”

She looked at him, searching. He held her gaze, trying to communicate how little energy they had to cope with this. What she saw must’ve sufficed because she nodded and moved past him out the quinjet.

Steve seemed almost adrift, like all the energy and focus he had was channeled into the mission so he could be a successful commander and coordinate his team to reach their goal. He was disconnected, and Bucky almost regretted taking him up a little on the flight because he knew it now made Steve less present, less able to deal with things in the moment, but he never expected they would have to deal with Fury and picking through that subtle web to figure out what he was really trying to get from them. Bucky had thought they would have just a minute to try and pull themselves together, for Bucky to look after Steve and get him out of whatever funk that was brought on by the mission. 

Steve winced softly as Fury raised his voice, arguing with Natasha, and Bucky reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Steve turned to look at him before stepping in, resting his forehead on Bucky’s shoulder, his hands gently circling Bucky’s waist. 

It was a sign of weakness Steve never would’ve allowed if he hadn’t already been just a little bit in subspace, and Bucky hated that he’d put them in this position, that he had yet another item on the list of things he couldn’t seem to get right for his sub. 

He was trying to block out the argument outside the jet but it was getting difficult as Natasha loudly spoke over whatever Fury was demanding. The fact that she was allowing a little dominance into her voice meant she was trying to make Fury understand that they wouldn’t be backing down from this, and while Bucky admired her tenacity in trying to protect them it sent a shiver through Steve, who tried to move closer. Steve’s hands moved up to grip the straps on the back of Bucky’s tactical vest, tucking his head into Bucky’s neck as if it would block out all the sensory stimuli that Bucky’d pulled down his defenses against by putting him in subspace. 

Bucky stared out at the pair as they argued, feeling the too-slow, too-deep breaths against his skin that told him he really wouldn’t be getting Steve through a debrief without a chance to fix the mess he’d made of this whole situation. God he should’ve known better than to send Steve up outside of base, even if it was only supposed to be a little bit so he’d be back to neutral by the time hey had to debrief. 

Apparently Natasha’s insistence had got through because Fury threw his hands out in exaggeration and sent them a glare before retreating inside. Natasha started back towards the quinjet but slowed at the sight of Steve wrapped in Bucky’s arms. 

_Sorry_ , she signed at him, and he felt the tug of realizing that they’d once had a cobbled together set of codes to communicate in the field, American sign language and military field codes and things they’d just made up together, without having any distinct memories to tell him how and when he had learned them. 

She stayed back, not wanting to set Steve off worse. _One hour_ , she said, and then a sign he couldn’t define other than the wait for a target to show, a period of rest that wasn’t really restful when you knew you only had so much time before things picked back up again. 

So whatever Fury wanted them for wasn’t going to be pleasant, but she’d bought them an hour of dubious reprieve before they’d have to face it. It would have to be enough. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scene, pt. 1

Bucky guided Steve towards the quarters they’d been given as a dom/sub pair, unsettled by the still-glassy stare that turned towards him whenever Bucky slowed to check on Steve. After running into surprisingly very few people along the way, Bucky turned a sharp corner and then hastened to open the door to their quarters. He let Steve pass and then stepped forward to close the door, resting his forehead upon it for the briefest of moments as he grappled with his thoughts. 

He turned slowly to find Steve staring at him, with a gaze too vacant to actually be seeing Bucky in front of him. Bucky felt his gut clench with nerves as he forced himself to make a decision. Right or wrong, he had to choose now; time was ever running closer to when he had to have Steve ready and neutral for whatever discussion that was to come. 

“Do you trust me?” Bucky asked quietly, keeping the nerves out of his voice by sheer will. Steve focused in on him, gears turning before he nodded once. “Yes, Soldier,” he said in a voice barely more than a rasp. 

Steeling himself, Bucky let dominance seep into his voice as he spoke, soft but firm: _”Kneel.”_

Steve folded instantly to the ground. Tension ran through him, fingertips firmly pressed to the floor next to his thighs where they had landed first, had kept his weight from cracking down onto just his knees as he dropped like his strings had been cut. Bucky blinked, startled by how quickly it had happened, and then reached forward with the left hand he knew wouldn’t shake, cupping Steve’s face and tilting it up. 

As quickly as it had came, the tension vanished, Steve seeming to almost wilt as he relaxed. It left him with his head practically being held up by Bucky’s hand, eyes closed and mouth parting on a ragged exhale. 

Bucky breathed, taking a moment to stare down at his sub and praise every god that this hadn’t backfired, before stepping in again like they’d been on the helicarrier and guiding Steve’s head to rest on Bucky’s thigh. Fingers snaked around Bucky’s ankles, a rasp of tactical pants against callused palms as Steve settled his hands in a gentle grip, though he still let his body fall forward against Bucky’s thighs without trying to take any weight on his hands. 

The weight of two slow but firm taps against his ankle - _’green’_ \- let the tension fall from Bucky’s shoulders as well. That Steve was checking in, reassuring Bucky that this was okay without needing to muster the energy for those words, finally settled Bucky’s nerves. 

“Thank you,” Bucky said, barely audible. He ran his hand through Steve’s hair and gathered what what he wanted to say, and then lifted Steve’s chin to look at him. 

“I want you to let me take care of you,” Bucky said, “and I want you to forget everything that’s happening and focus just on the sensations of here and now. I’m going to take you up hard and fast. Will you let me do that?”

Steve’s eyes slid closed as he gave two taps - _still green_ \- and then stood as Bucky pulled him to his feet. Stepping out of the entryway, Bucky guided Steve towards the master bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scene, pt. 2

Heading into the bedroom, Bucky guided Steve to stand by the foot of the bed. Taking a moment to look at the tight, exhausted expression in his sub’s face, Bucky ran gentle hands from Steve’s shoulder to his hands and guiding them to Bucky’s own shoulders as this time it was Bucky dropping to his knees.

He untied Steve’s shoes, letting him put his weight in Bucky’s shoulders to step out of them, setting the socks and shoes out of the way under the edge of the bed. As Bucky made his way back up Steve’s body, he removed the gun and knives Steve kept in various thigh and upper body holsters and placed them on a long side table set aside for that purpose. Finally, he unstrapped the upper body components of Steve’s tactical suit and took it off, guiding Steve’s arms so that the compression shirt underneath would come off with it. 

Standing up when it was put away as well, Bucky tilted a head as he thought. “Get on the bed,” he told Steve. “Kneeling, facing me.”

Bucky mechanically stripped out of his own tac gear, his larger arsenal of weapons dwarfing Steve’s on the table, until like Steve he only had his tac pants on. Quickly grabbing two lengths of rope from the drawer of scene items, Bucky went back to the bed. 

Steve was kneeling on the bed as instructed, but his shoulders carried too much tension, spine ramrod straight and breaths slow in a way that was forceful rather than peaceful, and Bucky wanted to remove the distractions of how to hold his body, to let Steve stop thinking and just focus on sensations so Bucky could get him up to subspace quickly. 

Bucky grabbed one length of rope and looped the ends around the left bedpost a few times, glad right now that their accommodations had a four-poster bed, and tied it off so a loop of rope was left extending down onto the mattress. Running his hand down Steve’s right shoulder to his wrist and pulling it out towards the post, Bucky pressed the loop to the back of Steve’s wrist and then threaded it around so that the rope traveled along Steve’s palm when he closed his hand around it. Moving to the right, he secured Steve’s left arm in the same manner. It left Steve kneeling on the bed, arms hanging a little away from his sides but with no more tension now that the rope was holding them up.

Bucky looked over his work, pausing. “Kneel up,” he said, and when Steve shifted his weight off his heels the tension came back again as Steve tried to balance with his arms not quite at his sides, now being hindered by the rope instead of helped. Bucky moved to each bedpost, untying the ends of the rope and re-tying them much tighter and farther up the post so that Steve’s arms were fully stretched out to the sides and the rope had no slack. Bucky ran his palms down the outside of Steve’s thighs before circling in to push against the inside, the ropes helping Steve stay balanced this time, until his legs were spread as far as the tac pants would allow. 

Bucky left him stretched out while he went back to the scene drawer and grabbed condoms, lube, a glove, butt plug, blindfold, and the lightest, feather-tipped flogger, placing all but the last item in the middle of the bed behind Steve before coming back around in front of him. 

Standing there, Bucky checked that Steve’s setup was stable, and then mentally prepared himself. He’s done the best he can to transition into the scene but they’re quickly running out of time. Taking a deep breath, he calmed all the distractions in his own mind, focused on _dominance_ , and then stepped forward.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scene, pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter still has a ton of errors from switching tenses but I hope y’all can be patient with me as I get around to fixing them! I decided to post new chapters instead of prioritizing edits so hopefully that helps 🤷🏻

Bucky dragged the flogger up Steve’s chest, watching the play of the feathers leave behind shuddering muscles, riding the fine edge between tickling and sensation play. When it started to become too much, he flipped it around in his hand to run the handle up Steve’s inner thigh until it presses against his crotch. The minute shift of Steve’s hips to get more friction was the reaction Bucky was aiming for, so he pressed the handle up harder and rocked it against Steve’s half-hard cock. 

“I’m going to plug you, flog you, and then fuck you. Green or yellow,” Bucky asked, firmly. Steve’s breath caught on a gasp at Bucky’s gruff tone and he didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Drop the rope from either hand for yellow or red. You have to use your words right now, Captain, because after this if you don’t drop the rope or otherwise indicate you’re not green, then I won’t stop. Green or yellow, Captain.”

“Green,” Steve replied, staring at Bucky with eyes once again starting to glaze over as his hips continue thrusting along the flogger. Bucky leaned down and kissed him, roughly, pulling them close with a hand against Steve’s ass so he can feel it clench as they grind against each other, the hard line of the flogger handle cutting in between them with the sweetest edges of pain. 

Before long though, Bucky left the flogger on the floor in front of Steve and climbs up onto the bed behind him. He moves the supplies to his right and puts the blindfold over Steve’s eyes and then shifts forward, lifting Steve’s thighs up so he can slide his own between them. It stretches Steve’s legs obscenely wide and forces him to arch back into Bucky. Steve rolls his hips down and Bucky moans lowly, metal hand moving across Steve’s chest to pull him closer as he buries his head in Steve’s neck and bites down gently, relishing Steve’s gasp and the the way his head rolls back onto Bucky’s shoulder.

They stay there for a moment, breathing deeply. Bucky drags his right hand up Steve’s inner thigh and presses the heel against his cock, grinding down and thrusting his hips forward to drag his own cock against Steve’s ass. He bites at Steve’s neck again on another thrust and then unzips Steve pants and pulls his cock out, caging his fingers loosely as Steve shifts to get more stimulation. As soon as Steve finds a rhythm though, Bucky pulls his hands away and scoots out from under Steve’s thighs, pressing them in again so Steve sits up straight.

He starts working the tac pants and briefs down to Steve’s knees, then out from underneath them as Steve tenses up to lift his body weight onto his toes and briefly lift his knees off the bed. It’s quick work to shuffle them the rest of the way off, and then he’s once more pulling Steve’s knees apart, this time letting Steve rest more comfortably on his ankles.

Bucky stands up and strips off his own tac pants, pulls the glove onto his right hand, and grabs the lube before moving to stand in front of Steve once more. He takes in the sight - the hard planes of Steve’s body as he stretches his arms out for balance, the way his abs tighten to keep him steady as his hips thrust minutely every few seconds. The way Steve tilts his head ever so slightly to try and pick up the sounds of movement and decipher them into the picture his eyes cannot see. Bucky pops the lid of the lube and pours some into his hand, moaning as he grips his own erection and enjoys the sight he’s made of his sub. He pulls gently on Steve’s cock and enjoys the gasp it elicits when he thumbs across the head. After a few slow, tight pumps, he pours more lube onto his hand and steps forward to press their cocks together between each other just as he reaches around and drags his thumb from the very top of Steve’s ass down to his hole, pressing the pad and fingernail along the edge to feel as if he’s stretching Steve open already. 

Steve bites off a yelp and shivers violently, body torn between pushing forward into the lube collecting between their stomachs or back onto the pressure pulling him open. Bucky rocks there gently as Steve groans, shifting in his restraints to better spread his knees and let Bucky in closer. Coating his finger again Bucky pushes in, fucking one fingertip slowly but inexorably deeper as Steve tries to relax. 

They keep a steady pace, moving from one finger to two, then three, before Bucky pulls out completely to grab the butt plug. Steve sags in his restraints, sweat collecting on his brow as he tries to catch his breath. Bucky tilts Steve’s head up with his left hand and kisses him, hard, and then bites down on Steve’s lower lip at the same time as he presses the butt plug in. 

Steve positively keens, cock jumping against their stomachs. Bucky caresses his cheek, “You’re doing so well Steve, what’s your color?”

A mumbled “green” is Steve’s response, and Bucky is glad to see his sub starting to unwind a little, starting to let go of the pent-up emotions keeping him from really letting go Bucky could send him up. But he wasn’t quite there yet...

So Bucky reached down for the flogger at his feet. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading. For those who have stuck with me since I published TFIH - y’all are the fuckin best. To those who just found me - thank you so much for taking a risk on this fic. You’re amazing. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, and gave kudos. I may not respond to all comments but I love getting headcanons and ideas (because sometimes they prompt ideas I write into the story!)
> 
> I was so lucky to write TFIH as part of a bang and lucidnancyboy’s artwork literally gave me _life_. Just like TFIH, this fic came about because I couldn’t get this just intense visual out of my head, of Steve not-quite-tied-up, so if anyone with an artistic streak is interested in working with me to bring that to life I might be able to find some room in the budget for a commission!
> 
>  
> 
> _September update: I finally finished the chapters that preface the original one posted! It also helped me identify areas in this original chapter that need to be better fleshed out (and also that like almost the whole chapter is in the wrong-ass tense ugh) so this last chapter will be updated when I get a chance to finish those edits. Reading through y’all’s comments though finally gave me the encouragement I needed to say “fuck it they already have the stuff that needs edits” and just post the new beginning chapters. Thank you for all the AMAZING support y’all don’t even know how happy it’s made me to know you’re enjoying this too :)_


End file.
